Arctic ice has been in a consistent downtrend for decades. The trend is absolutely clear – arctic sea ice is going away. Arctic ice hit a record low in 2012, and since then has regressed to the mean, so that the last two years have increased. The overall downward trend, however, is unchanged. This is a way of cherry picking data – choose a starting point for comparison that is anomalously low, then point to the subsequent increase. The situation in the antarctic is a bit more complex. Antarctic sea ice has increased recently. It is not clear why – perhaps a combination of increased precipitation and other factors. It is not because of decreased ocean temperatures, which continue to rise. However, pointing to antarctic sea ice increasing as evidence against AGW is more cherry picking. Antarctic land ice is decreasing. This is also the ice we care about, as melting land ice raises ocean levels, while sea ice has no effect because it is already displacing water. Further, if we look at global sea ice, it has been decreasing by about 1.4% per decade. The overall trend is decreasing, even though there are local temporary increases.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 07:42:18 +0000
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